Nathan MacKinnon credits his other 100-point Avs teammate for Art Trophy-contending season - "Couldn't do anything without him"

By kuljitparmar13

Modified Apr 01, 2024 04:40 GMT

Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon has credited his teammate Mikko Rantanen for his scoring success this year in what has been a dominating season for the dynamic duo.

MacKinnon is a +33 across 74 games played this season. He has scored 47 goals and recorded 80 assists, tallying 127 points. Meanwhile, Rantanen, with 39 goals and 61 assists, also crossed the 100-point mark during their 7-4 win over Nashville Predators.

He also has a slight lead over Edmonton superstar Connor McDavid (125) and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (126). Both players are on his heels for the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the highest point scorer in the NHL regular season.

In a recent interview with Meghan Angley of DNVR, Nathan MacKinnon said:

“All my success has a lot to do with him,” said MacKinnon. “I couldn’t do anything without him. He’s such an amazing player and I think people are, the last couple of years, starting to take notice of how great he is. (He) just continues to be consistent every season: 40-50 goals,100 points.”

If successful in the point race, this would be Nathan Mackinnon's first Art Ross Trophy to his name. McDavid has five and Kucherov has won the title once.

Nathan MacKinnon's 35-game point streak on home ice ends in controversy

Nathan MacKinnon's 35-point streak on home ice snapped on March 28, as he failed to record a single point throughout the night. However, the game was mired in controversy surrounding a play where the Avalanche scored.

The game between the Avalanche and New York Rangers resulted in a 3-2 win for the latter. Casey Mittelstadt of the Avs scored first for his team with a minute and a half left in the second period to get the game going. In the third period, however, the Rangers scored at just under 3 minutes in the frame by Kaapo Kakko to tie the game.

Chris Kreider scored for the Rangers to take a 2-1 lead at the halfway mark of the third. Devon Toews then scored the second goal for the Colorado Avalanche to tie the game at 2 apiece.

This is where the controversy happened. It was believed Nathan MacKinnon had assisted on the goal by Toews. However, the assist was not counted following a video review, thus holding MacKinnon pointless throughout the night.

The Colorado Avalanche next play the Columbus Bule Jackets on April 1 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.